Katie Light , LCSW, LSCSW

Katie Light is a licensed social worker who brings a pragmatic, strengths-based approach to supporting adults and young adults through stress, mood concerns, relationship challenges, and trauma recovery. With seven years of clinical experience across inpatient and community settings, she has worked in psychiatric hospitals, community mental health centers, outpatient addiction treatment programs, domestic violence advocacy, and group homes for people with disabilities. This varied background has given her experience with a wide range of mental health and substance use concerns and helped shape a flexible, skill-focused style of care.

She holds LCSW and LSCSW credentials - LCSW stands for Licensed Clinical Social Worker and LSCSW denotes Licensed Specialist Clinical Social Worker - and is licensed to practice in Kansas and Missouri. Katie emphasizes collaboration, helping each person identify strengths and practical tools that fit their life. She commonly draws on cognitive behavioral strategies, acceptance and commitment methods, dialectical behavioral skills, and trauma-focused techniques such as EMDR, adapting and combining approaches to meet individual needs.

Trauma work is a central passion for Katie. She attends to ways trauma can show up as depression, anxiety, mood shifts, isolation, substance use, or difficulties with relationships and coping. Her goal is to support clients as they build safety, clarity, and practical skills to move toward meaningful recovery and change.

Integrating Evidence-Based Approaches for Online Care

Katie often combines cognitive behavioral therapy and EMDR when working with clients online. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying unhelpful thoughts and behaviors and teaching practical strategies to change them, which can help with anxiety, depression, and mood regulation. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a trauma-focused method that helps people process distressing memories and reduce their emotional intensity, often benefiting those with a history of trauma or PTSD.

She also draws on dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills to teach emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and healthier communication when those areas are priorities. Determining which approach or combination will be most helpful is a collaborative process - the therapist and client work together to match methods to the client’s goals, preferences, and pace.

Online therapy with Katie is offered through video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to provide flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to maintain continuity of care, practice skills between sessions, and access licensed professionals from home or other convenient locations.